Share this interview

Jay McKnight and Andrea McKnight

This love story started with a song. It was Brooklyn in the late 1950s. Jay McKnight and his friends spent summer evenings outside, singing a cappella. And one night, Jay caught the ear of a girl named Andrea. Jay and Andrea McKnight came to StoryCorps in New York to talk about what happened next.

The music at the end of the story is by Jay’s group from the 50s, Little Nate & the Chryslers.

Credits

Producers

Facilitators

Music By

Transcript

Andrea McKnight (AM) and James McKnight (JM)

AM: We heard these voices. the guys singing on the corner. And this tall, dark fellow was singing. He had these shades on. I was like, ”Look at this guy.” Voice was fabulous. And young as I was at the time, I think I was, what 14. I said, ”Nah.” He’s not even going to take notice of me.

JM: I was 18 going on 19 years of age. I looked at a friend of mine, who I was singing with and I said, ”I’m going to marry her.” You know what he told me – You’re going to jail.

JM and AM: (laugh)

JM: She’s too young. No, I’m really going to marry her. So, one day she was by herself. I said I’m going to talk to her now. As a young guy, you drop your voice.

AM: He was trying to impress.

JM: I said, ”Hi, how you doing?”

AM: (laughs)

JM: Like that.

AM: (laughs) Which made me nervous.

JM: It was to impress.

AM: You remember the thing that impressed me about you? We were on the bus coming from the movies and it started thundering and poured down rain. Getting off the bus there was a puddle and you took your shirt off.

JM: (laughs) Yeah.

AM: And laid it down. I was finished.

JM: Yeah.

AM: Finished, you hear?

JM: We actually wanted to get married, but everybody in her family wanted to kill me.

AM: (laughs)

JM: So our parents got together and talked.

AM: It was a talk and a half.

JM: I don’t know… It was…

AM: You had to come and speak to my grandmother.

JM: I was scared, and she was terrified. But we did get married.

AM: We did.

JM: I was no bed of roses to live with because I’m an entertainer. There’s a lot of temptation out there when you’re singing.

AM: Yeah.

JM: There’s a lot. But I used to tell them when you get as pretty as my wife, then we’ll talk.

AM: Why do you think that we lasted as long as we did?

JM: We like the same things. Cowboy movies. We’re crazy about them.

AM: (laughs)

JM: That’s the reason why things get along so well. No because we have a lot in common.

AM: No seriously.

JM: I think it’s because we grew up together.

AM: Did you ever thing that we would grow old together?

JM: I never thought I would ever grow old.

AM: Okay. (laughs)

JM: To start off with. People look at us at sometimes – you all still holding hands.

AM: Oh.

JM: That’s right.

AM: Our children say that to us.

JM: Yeah, but no other woman will ever move me. And I’ll always love you no matter what.